Comparison

FlowReader vs Excerpta

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

FlowReader

This app allows you to read EPUB books hands-free with intelligent auto-scrolling. Customize your reading experience and import your own books to enjoy while multitasking.

Highlights
  • Hands-free auto-scrolling
  • Personal EPUB import
  • Precision pace control
  • Immersive focus mode
  • Customizable appearance
  • Reading themes
Features
Read full description

Stop holding your phone. Start holding your focus. WHY FLOWREADER? True Hands-Free Reading: Our intelligent auto-scroll engine moves at your pace, so you can keep your hands on the weights or the whisk. Your Library, Your Way: Import 1 personal EPUB for free. Upgrade to Premium for unlimited personal EPUB imports. Precision Pace Control: Fine-tune scrolling speed to match your comfort level, from a slow crawl to a rapid flow. Immersive Focus Mode: A clean, distraction-free reading environment designed to help you stay in the book. Custom Comfort: Adjust appearance and layout for your environment. Custom reading themes are available with Premium. Whether you’re meal prepping in the kitchen, hitting the treadmill, or relaxing at home, FlowReader turns reading into a seamless hands-free flow. PERFECT FOR The Active Reader: Read while walking or on the treadmill. The Home Chef: Follow recipes or enjoy a book while your hands are busy. The Commuter: Read comfortably without constant swiping. The Minimalist: A lean, gesture-light reading experience. SUBSCRIPTION INFO FlowReader is free to download. Premium features require a separate purchase (subscription or lifetime unlock). Auto-renewable subscription: FlowReader Premium Subscription options: Monthly and Yearly (pricing shown in-app) Lifetime unlock: One-time purchase option Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period Manage and cancel subscriptions in Apple ID account settings Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/flowreader-privacypolicy/home Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Excerpta

Track your reading progress, journal your thoughts, and save favorite quotes from any book. Capture text with your camera, organize your library, and visualize your reading habits over time. Discover new books and sync your progress across devices.

Highlights
  • Capture quotes via camera, photos, or typing
  • Journal notes, page numbers, and reading moods
  • Organize books by shelves, authors, and series
  • Track reading progress and set yearly goals
  • Analyze reading statistics and visualize habits
  • Discover new books and import from other platforms
  • Sync across devices with iCloud
Features
Read full description

Excerpta is a book tracker that doubles as a reading journal. Every book gets its own timeline: the lines that stopped you, the notes you wrote, the pages you read each day, and how it all felt. Point your camera at a page to keep a quote. It keeps the rest too: your shelves, where you left off, and how your year in reading is going. KEEP THE WORDS – Capture quotes with the camera, from photos (a few pages at once), or by typing. The text is read on your phone. – Tap a paragraph to keep it whole, or drag the highlighter across just the words you want. – Pick one of six highlight colors, add a note, and mark the page or chapter. – Tag the character who said it and add how it made you feel. Your moods can go to Apple Health too. – Quotes that don't belong to any book land in your Commonplace book. READ YOUR EPUBS AND COMICS Add an EPUB or a comic (CBZ, CBR) to any book and read it here, with search, six themes, and your own font. Manga reads right to left. Keep a passage or a panel as a quote, and the reader logs your reading for you. HOWEVER YOU READ Print, e-book, or audiobook. Owned, borrowed, or gifted. They all share the same shelves. – Add books by searching, scanning the barcode, or typing them in yourself. – Browse by book, author, character, or series. Series fill themselves in, or build your own. – Make as many shelves as you like. A book can sit on several. – Rate in half or quarter stars, write a review, and start a reread with a fresh timeline. – Add a new release as Upcoming and get a note the day it's out. KNOW WHERE YOU LEFT OFF – Start the reading timer and pause it from the Lock Screen, or set your page, your percent, or the time left in an audiobook. – Give a book a finish date, or your whole year a goal. – The Calendar shows each day you read as a cover, ringed by your mood, with your streak up top. SEE HOW THE YEAR IS GOING Stats shows what your reading looked like: Books Read, Pages Read, Genres, Mood, Top Authors, and more. Reading Nooks gathers the photos you took and maps the places you read. Pick the cards, then look at a month, a year, or all time. FIND THE NEXT ONE Discovery brings in the NYT Bestsellers lists. Connect Hardcover for what's trending, the most anticipated books, Vibes, and readers' lists, plus each book's moods and similar books. BRING YOUR BOOKS ALONG – Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Kindle highlights, Kobo, Apple Books, or a spreadsheet. – Sync between your devices with iCloud. – Sync your library and shelves both ways with Hardcover, and your progress with KOReader. – Export any time, as one Markdown file per book, ready for Obsidian, Bear, or Notes. Export is always free. AROUND YOUR PHONE – Widgets for a quote, your current book, and your reading calendar, on the Home Screen and Lock Screen. – Screen Saver plays your quotes on a slow loop while your phone charges. – Capture a quote from Shortcuts or the Action button. – Share a quote as an image card, or send a friend a link to a book. – Ten reading fonts and an app icon in your highlight color. YOURS TO KEEP Your library lives on your phone and in your own iCloud. Open the app and add your first book. That's the whole sign-up. Excerpta is made by one person and one corgi. Your next favorite quote is waiting to be remembered. EXCERPTA UNBOUND Excerpta Unbound opens up everything above. Try it free for 7 days with the yearly plan, go monthly, or pay once and keep it for good. Family Sharing included. If your plan ends, your library stays readable and export stays free. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Any unused part of a free trial ends when you buy a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://excerpta.ink/privacy

Screenshots

FlowReader4 screens
Excerpta4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FlowReader at 5.0 against Excerpta's 3.5. Excerpta's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. FlowReader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Excerpta sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FlowReader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlowReader ships an update every 6 days, Excerpta weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
FlowReader versus Excerpta: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlowReaderExcerpta
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBeka DemuradzeTrevor Tarakjian

Customer experience

FlowReader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Excerpta

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

FlowReader

Subscriptions2
  • Flow Reader Premium$2.991 Month
  • Flow Reader Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$39.99
3 purchases

Excerpta

Subscriptions2
  • Excerpta Unbound Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Excerpta Unbound Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Excerpta Unbound Forever$49.99

Questions

Is FlowReader free?
FlowReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Excerpta free?
Excerpta is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FlowReader or Excerpta?
FlowReader is rated higher. FlowReader averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Excerpta averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do FlowReader or Excerpta have ads?
Neither FlowReader nor Excerpta shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FlowReader or Excerpta?
FlowReader ships an update every 6 days, and Excerpta weekly. Most recently, FlowReader was updated on November 5, 2026 and Excerpta on November 7, 2026.

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